


The times they are a changing

by Lavieboheme25



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: F/M, Family, Gen, Love, M/M, Siblings, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2020-05-20 13:41:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19377862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lavieboheme25/pseuds/Lavieboheme25
Summary: Max and Rafael Lightwood-Bane had never plan for any of this to happen. As far as they knew time traveling wasn't even possible, but somehow they found themselves twenty years into the past in the middle of the war with Valentine. Messing with time is a dangerous task, specially when there is someone after you. Will they managed to get back?





	1. Chapter 1

The door had just opened when Magnus was starting to set up the table for dinner. He didn’t had to turn around to know exactly who it was.

“You’re home early” said the warlock with a huge smile on his face. 

“Jace is covering up for me” said Alec setting his bow next to the door in it’s usual place. “He said that he could feel my stress levels rising by the second”

As soon as Alec’s eyes settle on Magnus his whole serious attitude changed completely to a huge smile matching the one on his lover's face. Alec walked up to him and gave him a small peck on the lips to greet him.

“I kind of love Jace right now” 

“So…what are you cooking for dinner?” 

“Just and old family recipe” said Magnus before snapping his finger and summoning a big plate of lasagna and garlic bread.

“What happened to your bet with Catarina? I thought you said there was no way you were loosing this time” 

“What she doesn’t know won’t kill her. Besides I don’t need to prove to anybody that I can do simply house chores without magic”

“Can you?” Alec joked which cause a small death glare from Magnus. “What makes you think I won’t tell her about you cheating?”

“Oh, I know you won’t” said the warlock moving closer to him.

“How can you be so sure?” 

“Because I can thank you in many ways for your silence” he answered moving even closer and holding his lovers face in his palms.

Alec couldn’t resisted anymore. He had his hands around Magnus waist and pulled him into a kiss. Every time he was close to the warlock he could feel all his senses go numb. He didn’t liked to admit it but he still found himself unable to breathe sometimes when Magnus walked through the door. It felt like time had never passed when they were together. 

“Ugh. Gross” said a voice snapping them back to reality. Both men chuckle at his reaction, not mad about someone ruining their moment.

“Sorry, I didn’t know I was not allowed to kiss my husband at our home. You should be happy we are still in love with each other” said Magnus still smiling.

“I am, but please you don’t have to show it every two minutes” said the fourteen year old warlock sitting down in the table looking at the lasagna like if it was the last meal on earth.

“You’ll understand when you fall in love some day” 

The boy just stared at him with an incredulous face but proceed to fill his plate with an enormous amount of lasagna. Max Lightwood-Bane was very skinny for a fourteen year old who trained nearly every day at the institute and who always ate a gigantic amount of food.

“Where’s your brother?” said Alec also still smiling.

“In his room” he answered with his mouth full.

Alec was about to walk to his son’s bedroom but Magnus told him to sit down. He knew how draining being the head of the New York Institute could be and he could also tell that Alec was probably starving by now.

Rafael Lightwood-Bane had his door closed and when his father opened it, he was startled by the sudden intruder. 

“Raf, dinners ready on the table” he said as his son hid his phone screen and put his video chat on hold.

“Ok. I will be there in a sec”

“Who are you talking to?” 

“Just Emma” he answered. His father eyed him suspiciously with a wide smile.

“I see…well when you are done talking to your girlfriend we would love if you could join us in the kitchen” said Magnus before leaving so he didn’t have to hear his son’s protests about Emma not being his girlfriend.

Magnus walked back to the kitchen and sat down next to his husband smiling as he saw Max and Alec laugh about something that had happened to poor Simon in the institute when he had tried to help the kids with their training. Although Alec would never admit it, he actually liked Simon and he was happy to have him as his brother in law even if he was kind of annoying sometimes. He knew he had a kind heart and loved his sister unconditionally.

“Where is Rafael?”

“He will come in a minute. He is just talking to his girlfriend” said Magnus as Rafael walked inside the kitchen rolling his eyes when he heard his father's statement.

“You have a girlfriend? Why didn’t you tell us you have a girlfriend?” asked Alec.

“Because I don’t. Papa is just being annoying. She is just a friend”

“Come on, Rafael. We are not blind” said Max with his plate empty. “She clearly likes you too, anyways” he added and Rafael couldn’t hide his big smile at his brother’s words.

“Do you like her?” asked Magnus looking at the boy.

“Yes. No. I mean…maybe. I don’t know”

“It’s painfully obvious. All you do is moon over her” Max added.

“Shut up. Nobody asked you”

“Wait, who are we talking about? Do I know her?” asked Alec.

“It’s Emma” his husband answered while his son, who was sitting in front of him, was red as a tomato.

“Oh, well Emma is a very wonderful girl. I am sure you two would make a good match, but I don’t know how your uncle Jace would react. He still sees her as a toddler” 

“I really like Emma, but I think things are good the way they are for now” 

The truth was that he didn’t just want a friendship with the young shadowhunter. He wanted so much more than that. He had known her his whole life, they were best friends, but lately things felt different between them. When they were together Rafael had found himself many times longing for a small touch, a glance, anything that could tell him that she reciprocated his feelings. Rafael knew deep inside that it was up to him to make a move, but he just couldn’t do it. He was afraid of rejection, he was a coward.

“If you and Emma start dating. You always have to be careful. We trust you, but you are still way to young to become a fa-“ 

“Ok, ok. Please stop I can assure you that we don’t need to have this conversation right now” Rafael interrupted his father looking at Max who look just as uncomfortable as him.

“So… I’m gonna go to my room” said the young warlock magically washing his plate and setting it in the counter.

“Yeah, I lost my appetite too” said Rafael and Max did the same with his plate.

When both children left the table Magnus and Alec turned to each other and just started laughing. It was cute to see their son fall in love and be so awkward about it. It reminded Magnus a little bit of his husband when they first met. Lost for words, blushing and avoiding eye contact were just some of the things both of them did. Who would of thought that all of that would have lead them to become a happy marriage with two kids?

“Do you think we are scarring them for life?” joked Magnus.

“Well, that’s kind of our job. To embarrass them constantly” 

“I love you, Alexander. I have never been this happy before and that is a lot to say considering how old I am” he said grabbing his husband's hand.

“I love you too, Magnus” he answered before kissing him.


	2. Chapter 2

Magnus Bane, the high warlock of Brooklyn, had lived through many decades. Some of them were better than others. In fact, there wasn’t many thing that he hadn’t experience at least once in his life time. Despite of all of this, the warlock had never felt so alive before meeting Alec. Since the first time they met he knew there was something different about the young shadowhunter. By that point he had already given up on love, Camille had broken his heart in many pieces and he thought he could never recover from such grief. He didn’t know what it was about Alec, but he just made him want to risk everything again. Now looking back he realised it was the best decision he made in his entire life. 

When he woke up he was distraught to find his bed empty. Alec had probably woken up before him to get to the institute and didn’t want to wake him up to say goodbye. He wished he had.  
Mornings in the Lightwood-Bane residence were usually very simple. When Alec was around he would make breakfast for their kids and for his husband and then he would take the kids with him to the institute while Magnus was able to rest a little bit more before his first appointment. Today there was no Alec so he had to make breakfast and make sure the boys got to the institute.

“Max, blueberry, hurry up. I need to fix a spell gone very wrong by some amateur 42 year old warlock. I don’t have all the time in the world” said his father waiting for the young warlock with Rafael by the door.

“Stop trying to fix you hair. It’s completely hopeless” shouted Rafael so his brother could hear his teasing.

“Don’t be mean to your brother” 

When Max walked to the living room Rafael couldn’t contain his laughter. The young warlock felt very embarrassed. His hair had an amazing amount of volume and looked very frizzy and chaotic. The worst struggle Max had in the morning was definitely his hair, it had a life of it’s own. No matter how many spells he had tried in the past, he could never get his hair to cooperate with him. 

“What the hell did you do?” asked Rafael between chuckles.

“I tried a new spell to see if I could get it to look better, but it only made it worst” said Max with a hint of desperation in his voice.

“It’s not that bad” said his father trying to keep a straight face.

“You are kidding, right? I need to take a picture of this” the young shadowhunter said while he was getting his phone out of his pocket, but he didn’t have the chance to take that picture because his brother threw his phone away without touching it. Luckily for Rafael it landed on the couch without a scratch.

“Don’t test me Rafael” said the warlock annoyed while his brother rolled his eyes at him for his dramatic display. “Papa, please tell me there is a spell that can help me” he pleaded.

“Don’t worry, darling. I will teach you the spell I use everyday to make myself presentable in the mornings, but right now you kids need to get to the institute” their father said conjuring a portal in a rush.

“Papa, you know I can make a portal you don’t need to conjure one for us everyday” 

“I know, but just because you are ugly teenagers now, it doesn’t mean I don’t get to do fatherly things” Magnus replied looking at his sons with fondness. “Ok, let’s get going. You don’t want to make biscuit mad again for arriving late to training. Specially now considering that her daughter is Rafael’s girl-“

“She is not my girlfriend…at least not yet” said Rafael blushing. “You are right we should get going” he added looking for away to avoid the conversation. He knew he could trust Magnus with his small secret, he could even give him valuable advice, but still it make him feel uncomfortable. Perhaps it was because he was afraid of hearing something he didn’t wanted to hear about himself and his lack of courage when it came to her.

When both boys got to the institute, training hadn’t started so they had a few minutes to spare. As soon as Rafael walked through the door he turned red when he saw her. Upon seeing him she made her way over to him with a wide smile. The Herondale-Fairchild descendant was the reflection of her mother in her younger years, the only difference between the two was the hair. Her hair was a long silky gold just like her father’s and her eyes were also a deep shade of blue. 

“Hey, you guys are early for once” she said but didn’t have any response because Rafael was looking at the her nervously. “Is everything ok?”

“Yes! I mean why wouldn’t it be?” he answered very fast, too fast. At this point Max was laughing uncontrollably next to him.

“Are you guys hiding something?” 

“Hiding something? No why would we be hiding something?” he said not sounding very sure of himself. Damn she was just as intuitive as her mom. Rafael was freaking out by this point, she couldn’t possibly know, right? “Maybe we should start to warm up” he added trying to shift the conversation into something else. Emma gave him a small look of concern, but he reassured her with a loving smile that everything was alright. She smiled back before choosing a weapon to fight against her friend.

The title for best fighter was an eternal debate between the two friends. They were always neck to neck. Rafael was surely the most skilled shadowhunter in his age group, he knew exactly how to hold a weapon to his advantage. He was also, just like his fathers, a born leader. He was capable of organising his team in a very strategic way and he knew the importance of listening to his team, that’s why everyone respect him despite of his quiet attitude. 

Max on the other hand was very smart. He was capable of figuring out complicated assignment, but when it came to the battlefield he had some small issues. He lost focus very easily, which didn’t do well when certain demons were glamoured hiding at plain sight. Unlike his brother, Max was not socially awkward he knew how to make small talk and hold a conversation without any trouble. That’s the reason why he got along with everyone and had many friends. They were pretty different, but they both had an essence of both of their fathers. Just like Magnus and Alec the two young men were kind and caring. They didn’t put up with injustice and they both wanted a change between how shadowhunters treated downworlders. Although this had improved a lot during the last decade there still was a lot more to do.

Rafael and Emma had been training for an hour already when a familiar face appeared next to them. She was watching them carefully as they both went for round two with fake seraph blades. The women had a mesmerised expression on her face as she was watching them.

“Good job guys. You can kick your dad’s butt easily now” she joked to Emma.

“Uncle Jace doesn’t stand a chance” laughed Rafael.

“So do you” replied the young girl.

Just as they were joking around a strong tall figure walked into the training room. Max, who was at the other side of the room training with his friends, came rushing to greet the familiar figure with their usual signature hand shake they had just between them.

“Hey buddy. Did you managed to improve your balance?” the man asked.

“Yeah, thanks for that. It really helped a lot the move you showed me” 

“Hey, Grandpa. It feels like we haven’t seen you and Grandma in forever. How was the trip?” asked Rafael greeting him with a very interested Emma by his side.

“It was fun, despite of the fact that we both spent most of our time working. But it was cool to see the Big Ben in real life rather than pictures. It gives me a new thing to brag about” he replied with a small wink. They all seem very smitten with what he was saying, specially because he was known for telling the best stories and he was the only source where they could get all the dirt from their parents younger years.

“Yo Max, why you run away? Is it because you know you don’t stand a chance against us?” yelled one of Max’s friends forcing him to come back to prove them wrong.

The next thing they saw was Clary rushing to the man’s arms into a warm hug as soon as she saw him. They both were smiling widely, happy about their reunion.

“It’s good to see you kido” 

“I missed you too, Luke. But what are you doing here? Wasn’t your trip supposed to last another month?” she asked and his smiled kind of faded for a second.

“We had to come back early. The Praetor needed me and Maryse couldn’t stand being so far away from the bookshop, besides it was time we came back to spoil our grandkids” said Luke in an attempt to cover something from the kids.

Emma and Rafael could sense immediately something was off, but they both knew it wasn’t their place to ask so they just smiled back to the man they had learned to love like their grandfather. 

“Did you guys have a good time?” asked Emma.

“The best. I will tell you all about it I promise. Have you seen Alec? I stopped by his office, but he wasn’t there”  
“He is probably in a meeting. Luke, is everything ok?” said the red head. Just like Emma and Rafael, Clary could sense something was definitely not right. He seemed nervous and anxious and he kept looking down at the floor avoiding their gaze.

“Yes, everything is alright” he stated looking at the kids in front of him faking a smile. “Do you think there is somewhere we can go to talk?” he asked, but this time only looking at Clary.

“Sure. You guys are doing great. Keep going” she encouraged them before leaving with Luke.

Both teenagers shared a small looked of concern, but they resumed their training immediately. What ever was happening surely the institute would know how to handle it. It couldn’t be something they hadn’t faced before.  
Their training was cut off short by both of their fake weapons breaking due to the strong impact they had used. Unfortunately for them there wasn’t any spare ones in the room so one of the had to go to the weapons room.

“Fine. I’ll go” Rafael said giving in into Emma’s pleading face. This made her smile which made him almost swoon in front of her.

He knew he had to tell her the truth about his feelings, but he was too afraid. Although he had to admit that a part of him was sure she liked him back. The problem was that the other part had many doubts. It always told him that there was no way she could reciprocate his feelings because how could she with so many other boys way better than him around? And there was also the fear about ruining their friendship. 

The only girl he had dated before was Victoria Brandwell and things didn’t end up in the best way between them to say the least. At the start Rafael really did like her, she was beautiful and smart, but soon he realised they didn’t really have much in common. The time they spent together started to feel weird and it took a lot of hard work to keep the conversation going since they didn’t have any chemistry. They were drifting apart so eventually he broke up with her, something she didn’t take very nicely. Rafael presume she was probably more angry about him breaking up with her rather than the break up itself. Now every time they saw each other it was painfully awkward for both of them. This couldn’t happened with Emma, he didn’t wanted to loose her if they eventually decide to break up. She was too important in his life. He just couldn’t risk it.  
As all of this thoughts were running through his mind, he suddenly stopped before entering the room when he heard two voices chatting. He knew he shouldn’t be snooping around, but what he heard left him shocked in the spot.

“Downworlders are being hunted and murdered in truly horrific ways. I have never seen such a barbaric crime scene before and that says a lot coming from me. The Praetor is truly worried about this. The worst part is that we have no idea who could have done it”

“Luke, this is awful. Why would someone do such things? It has been a very long time since something of this magnitude happened in our world”

“I know. Anyone’s life could be at risk right now”

At this point Rafael decided to not continue hearing the conversation anymore. He took several steps back until he couldn’t hear them and felt in utter shock. Suddenly his thoughts were fill with the number of people in his life who were downworlders. People who he love and admire. He couldn’t help to think what the world would be without them. Without his uncle Simon, the kindest person he had ever met; without Luke, the only grandfather figure he ever had; without Caterina and Madzie or Maia, some of the bravest and kindest women he had ever encounter; but more importantly without Max and his Papa. He couldn’t even begin to think what he would do if his Papa wasn’t there to give him advice when he needed it or conjure dinner before Aunt Izzy could even think about making it herself or just to hug him and tell him how much he loved him. And his little brother, sure he could be a pain in the ass most of the time, but Rafael didn’t wanted to imagine a world were he wasn’t in it.

All this people were a part of his family and they didn’t deserve to die. He would do everything he could to protect them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. If you have any suggestions or questions about the story make sure to leave it in the comments.


	3. Chapter 3

The meeting with the clave representatives and with the downworlders cabinet had actually gone pretty well. Alec could remember that not so long ago the clave wouldn’t even have considered to be in the same room as downworlders and now they were actually talking about public space rights and equality up to a certain extent. Their world had made a lot of progress in the last couple of decades, sure there still were many close minded people who couldn’t stand to see downworlders living among them as equals, but they were a minority now. Progress was never easy, but it was completely worth it.

“That didn’t go as bad as expected” said Izzy walking next to her brother along the corridor to his office.

“I’m just glad Maia didn’t feel the need to rip any of the clave’s representatives heads off” 

“If I was her I don’t think I would have been able to contain myself that time” 

They were referring to an incident that happened in their meeting prior to this last one, where an old member of the clave gave some very offensive remarks about female werewolves. Maia was about to jump out of her seat, but Alec put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down and then he proceeded to explain to the man why his comment was offensive and that he should apologise immediately to the leader of the New York pack who was just in front of him listening to his very rude words.

Izzy then changed the subject and started to tell him every single detail of a new movie Simon had made her watch last night called the Butterfly effect which had Alec rolling his eyes so hard at the enthusiasm the day lighter could have with such mundane things like the idea of time traveling. Everyone knew it was impossible.

Their conversation was cut short by the arrival of two familiar figures in his office.

“Luke. What are you doing here? I thought you and Mom were staying in London for another month” said Izzy very happy to see him again.

“We were, but work needed me. Unfortunately I don’t have good news” he said as they all took a seat while looking at him with concern, except for Clary who had a hint of sadness in her face. “It has recently come to our knowledge that there is a murder in the loose. We just found a dozen of bodies slaughtered to death. All of them were downworlders”

“By the angel this is terrible” Isabelle said in shock.

“And it gets worse. The bodies we retrieve…I’ve never seen anything like it before. They look like if they were drained from all their magic and energy. Almost as if they were mundanes and the whole scene is just horrific. We tried to perform an autopsy with our scans, but they didn’t pick up anything. We were hoping you guys could had a better shot at it, after all you do have the best forensic specialist in the country” 

“Do you have any idea who could have done it?”

“We have nothing other than the fact that this is very fucking strange. Look, sometimes it’s very difficult to pick up a scent, but at least theres always traces of it. In this case we couldn’t pick up anything at all it’s like if the crimes weren’t even committed at that place. I have no idea who or what cause all of this, but it sure has to pay”

“I am certain we will all make sure of it. The praetor should have had informed us earlier about this, after all it happened in our territory. Are they sending the bodies to our morgue so they can be examine?” asked Alec with a very cold tone while Luke answered with a nod in the head. 

“I’ll go and prepare everything at the lab so we can start as soon as possible” said Izzy with determination before leaving the room.

“Everybody should be aware of what is going on so they can take the necessary precautions. I can’t imagine what the families from all this people are going through right now” said Clary looking at her boss.

“Yes, can you please take care of that? Send an emergency alert to all downworlders of what is happening and if they know anything about the case they should report it to us as soon as possible. Also if you see Jace can you tell him to come to my office immediately”

“On it” she said and left too in a hurry.

“I will go myself to inspect the crime scene with you and Jace, see if we can find anything new” 

“I have to make a few phone calls to update them before leaving” said Luke with his phone on his hand. 

“Yeah, go ahead” 

When Luke left, Alec couldn’t helped to feel worried. He had to know he was alright so he took advantage of the situation and decided to call him, but he wasn’t picking up. Surely they wouldn’t go after such a public figure as the high warlock of Brooklyn, it wouldn’t just be very stupid, but also suicide considering how powerful he was and also the fact that he was married to the head of the New York institute. They wouldn’t risk it, right?

“Come on, Magnus…” 

It was the second time his voice mail had sounded and Alec’s concern was increasing by the minute. He knew Magnus was probably busy, but after what he had heard he couldn’t help to imagine the worst. 

“Hey, sorry, I was just fixing a very stupid mess cause by some warlock. Is everything ok with the kids?” he felt a massive relief upon hearing his voice and let out a sight he didn’t even realise he was holding.

“The kids are fine. I was actually very happy to hear that they finally were on time for training today”

“Well I can’t say they got their tardiness from me” he said ironically which made his husband laugh in return. “So if it’s not the kids, what is it then?” the warlock added. 

“Am I not allowed to call my husband just to chat?”

“Yes, but you usually don’t do it at this time of the day. What’s going on, Alexander?”

“Luke is back”

“So soon. I thought they had another month left in London”

“The Praetor needed him for a case so they had to come back early… He just told us that they found a dozen of downworlders slaughtered to death. They have no idea who could have cause it, but hopefully we can find whoever is responsible”

“Oh my god…that’s terrible” he replied feeling very upset and angry about the whole situation. Magnus had always been a very caring person. He had devoted his life to help fellow downworlders because he knew how hard it is to be alone and to despise who you are. He would always go out of his way to help others so this news really affected him.

“Yes, it is and…I know that you are more than capable of taking care of yourself, but I just can’t help to worry sometimes. I wouldn’t know what to do if something where to happen to you. I don’t even want to think about it”

“I understand, darling. We face many dangers in our jobs and sometimes it’s hard to deal with all of that and I worry about you too, maybe too much, but I promise not to do anything foolish today or ever for you and the kids”

“I have to go now. I’ll call you later… I almost forgot to ask you if you could come to the institute to examine the bodies with Izzy?, it could be very helpful if any type of magic is involve in the case” he said when he saw Jace at the door talking to Luke waiting for him.

“Yes, of course I’ll be there. You also take care of yourself, ok?”

“Ok, I really have to go now. Love you” Alec said with a foolish smile in his face before ending the phone call.

 

When the alarm sounded in the institute many shadowhunters couldn’t help to gossip about it, despite the fact that nobody knew what had really happened. This made Rafael very mad because the rumours only made others even more afraid and hysterical. Max surprisingly seemed unaffected by the sudden news, after the alarm he just continued with his training and when his friends asked him how he was feeling he shrugged it off like it was nothing. Rafael was the only one who could see past his indifference. 

“Hey…how is Max doing?” Roger asked Rafael with genuine concern. Roger was a tall, well built man whose hair was very dark and he had some grey hairs despite the fact that he was only two years older than Rafael. They were distant blood family, but they had grown up very close because their parents got along very well and came often to visit the New York Institute.

“He actually seems way less concern than me. I don’t know if he doesn’t realise the danger of the situation and how it can easily affect him or if he is just hiding how he truly feels. That worries me, he is never careful”

“Shadowhunters are always more careful when it comes to danger is in our nature, but you know more than anyone how strong Max is. I wouldn’t be so worry about his safety if I were you, besides your whole family is one of the most famous in our world. Not to mention that your Dad is the Head of the New York institute and the other is not only the High Warlock of Brooklyn, but also one of the most powerful men to have ever lived. If whoever is behind all of this, goes after your brother it clearly has a death wish”

“Thanks Rog. I needed to hear that…So did you tell Madzie how you feel about her?” he asked changing his look of concern to a wide mischievous smile.

“Dude, shut up” he said almost whispering begging to Rafael to lower his voice. “Max is right, she is too old for me and amazing. I don’t think she even notice me” he added.

“Maybe not now, but who knows in the future? Besides she is only what 3 years older than you? My parents have an age difference of centuries so I will say you still have hope”

“That is completely different. Your dads are literally soulmates” he answered rolling his eyes.

“Look I won’t ever say this again, but you are truly amazing too. If there is someone Madzie deserves it’s definitely you”

“Thanks, Raf. Who knows? Maybe you are right, maybe I just have to wait a little longer” he said smiling to his friend with hope “So…now it’s up to you to tell Emma once and for all how you truly feel about her” he added after a moment of silence.

“Shh, lower your voice”

“She can’t hear me from all the way there. Seriously how much longer are you going to wait? Almost everyone you know has told you that she likes you back. What are you so afraid of?” he asked, but the other boy didn’t answer and changed the subject after a while.

 

Rafael was right about his brother hiding how he truly felt. Max was afraid, but he didn’t wanted to show it. As soon as the alarm sounded people started to give him strange glances with pity and he hated that. It was something Rafael could never understand. He could never understand the fear he had when he walked into a room full of shadowhunters not knowing if he would be accepted or not, sure Max was not the only downworlder who worked at the institute, but he still felt out of place sometimes and he had received very mean comments in the past by some of his peers. In spite of this he never spoke up, not wanting to draw more attention to the fact that he truly was different. His dad and papa had always told him and his brother how difficult things were in the past for downworlders and how he should never feel like he has to hide his true nature, because being a warlock was something to be proud off even if people said the contrary and Max knew this. His magic was a part of him that he would never trade for anything in the world. He loved being a warlock, but he still kept his blue skin hidden not because he was ashamed of his mark it was more due to the fact that some people didn’t reacted very kindly to it. Max was just tired, at his young age, of being treated differently that is why he had develop a habit of acting as if this type of situations didn’t affected him…as if he was ok.

“Aunt Izzy, is there anything we can do to help?” Rafael and Roger said approaching their superior who looked very concern and jumpy as if an attack where to occur right that moment.

“Not for now. The situation is being handle already by a team and it’s a matter of time before they catch who is behind this. The best thing we can do is return to our assignments and be there for our loved ones” she said giving her nephews a reassuring smile and a gentle touch in their shoulders trying to hide her fear. She was just as worried as them specially for a certain someone who was already late, but her concern seem to disappear as soon as she saw him walk through the door.

“Hey, sorry I am late for our date. I had to help Maia with some stuff at the restaurant” the vampire said, but she couldn’t care less. She rushed to him and hugged him really tightly as if he were to slip away form her touch any second. He hugged her in return with the same intensity and a huge smile in his face. “I am really sorry I should have call to let you know I was alright. We received the alarm at the restaurant and everyone started to freak out that’s why I took so long”

“It doesn’t matter. You are here now” she told him before giving him a small kiss in the lips. “So should we head to our date?” Izzy added much more calm. 

“There is just one thing I need to do before leaving” he said still looking at her with a wide smile on his face. 

Simon made his way to the training room, where the boy’s friends told him that he could find him. As he entered he was greeted by a loud groan. The young warlock was punching a bag that hanged of the celling with a tremendous amount of force and for once he didn’t seemed to be distracted at all. He displayed a determine expression that could have been quite scary if he didn’t have such a baby face that only made him much more adorable.

“Wow, what did the punching bag do to you?”

“Wanna give it a shot?” 

“No, thanks” the vampire answer smiling looking at his nephew with a bit of concern. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m ok, why wouldn’t I be?” he deflected the question.

“We have just received terrible news that affects us directly. It’s reasonable to be afraid right now. I for sure am and being afraid doesn’t make you a coward on the contrary recognising your fears makes you very strong”

“Maybe I am a little bit scared” Max said in a small voice. “And also frustrated at the way the others look at me, like I am different, and I can’t talk to them about it because they just wouldn’t understand and I don’t want my friends worrying about me either, but more than afraid I feel angry that this is happening. We have been told that our society has progress a lot, but this types of things makes you really wonder how much have we really progress”

“Things right now are so much better than when I first became a vampire, believe me. Now our whole world is worried about this. Back then the Clave wouldn’t have given it so much thought and you know you can always talk to me, right? How you feel is nothing to be ashamed of”

“I know…so which of my dads put you up to this?” asked the young warlock with a grin.

“What?”

“Oh come. I know they told you to check on me”

“It was Magnus. I am sure Alec would rather die than ask for my help, but don’t think I did it for them as a favour. I genuinely care about you and Rafael and Emma and…well you get the picture”

“Thanks for making me talk, I do feel better. I know dad sometime acts us if he hates you, but believe it or not he secretly likes you. The other day he made us watch one of does films that you are always talking about. I can’t remember the name… The king of the rings?”

“You mean The lord of the rings?”

“Yeah, that’s the one”

“Are you serious? This is huge. Finally I have something to talk about with him. Do you think I should call him? Would it be too much?” Simon said enthusiastically while Max was laughing senseless forgetting about all his problems for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Do you guys have any ideas on who could have committed the murders? If you have any suggestions or if there is something you would like to see in this story make sure to let me know in the comments.


	4. Chapter 4

Luke guided them to an old building in Brooklyn. The structure looked very torn apart. The fact that the building was still standing was surprising, and there were many rats and cockroaches running around. 

“Good thing Izzy didn’t come with us” said Jace when a rat was trying to bite him in the ankle, lucky for him his shadowhunters reflexes were quicker so he managed to kick the rat before it got to him.

The building had many floors and a lot of the steps in the stairs were missing. Alec was on high alert, the atmosphere didn’t give him a good vibe. It was somehow familiar to him, like if he had been in its presence before. The werewolf lead them to the back of the first floor and stood in front of a door that seem to let to a garage. 

“I have to warn you guys that what is behind this door is not pleasant at all and that’s coming from someone who used to work as a detective in New York” 

“We can handle it” said the blonde with confidence holding his seraph blade even tighter.

Luke glance them one last time before opening the door. They were all prepare to encounter a horrific gory scene, they were even expecting to find a radical demon or creature, but there was nothing. It was just a big room with white dull walls and a dirty red floor. There was nothing unusual about the place. It just looked like and old garage.

“I don’t understand. It was all here a couple of hours ago” said the werewolf.

“Did the praetor clean the room or something?” asked Jace.

“No, it’s against protocol”

“Well…whoever is behind this did a very good job at hiding everything. From the pictures that you showed us I don’t think they could have done all of this in just a few hours, unless there was some type of magic involve” said Alec looking around.

Jace pulled out his steel and activated his clairvoyance rune, but it was useless. There was no glamour, nothing strange around them. It didn’t make sense at all.

“This just got even weirder” said the blonde.

“I think there is nothing for us to do here. Let’s just head back to the institute, maybe they had more luck finding something in the bodies” said Alec knowing that they probably hadn’t find anything, but he didn’t wanted to loose hope. 

Luke and Jace seemed to agree with his words and headed to the exit that’s when they notice a strange blue sort of liquid in the hinge of the door. It’s texture was a little bit thick and it looked as if it had been place there very recently. The three of them couldn’t figure out what it was exactly so they took a sample of it to test it in the lab.

 

Max and Roger were coming back to the institute from a very simple patrol mission that included some loose demons. During the mission, Roger seemed more concern than usual about Max well being. He was in charge because he had more experience in the field so he kept insisting that they should stay together even if it was easier to check the perimeter individually. The young warlock felt offended by this. He loved his cousin, but he knew how to take care of himself. He wasn’t so reckless…at least not as much as his brother and his cousin thought. Roger and Rafael seemed to agree almost on everything and very often it felt like they were connected. Max sometimes couldn’t help but wonder if Rafael felt like Roger was more like his real brother than he was.

“Look who is over there” said the young warlock to his cousin with a cheeky smile pointing to a dark skin figure with long and curly brown hair who seemed to be writing a report very quietly.  
Roger was stunned as soon as he saw her like if a certain glow was coming from her that didn’t allowed him to look away. “Earth to Roger…come one stop drooling” said Max with a look of disgust. 

“Sorry, I zoomed out”

“You mean you Madzieout” 

“I wish I could just go over there and talk to her”

“Dude, just go talk to her. Here I’ll help…Madzie!”

“Shut up, Max!” said Roger very embarrassed, luckily for him she didn’t seemed to have heard anything and continue working on her report.  
“What? You said you wanted to talk to her”

“Yes, but…she is clearly busy right now”

“What are you guys talking about?” asked Rafael who had just come back from a very difficult mission with Emma that involve tracking a demons nest in the middle of Manhattan. This demons were easy to kill, but the problem with Manhattan was getting through the enormous amount of people who always got in their way.

“Roger is too afraid to even talk with Madzie” said Max mocking his cousin.

“That’s not true. I already told you that I don’t want to bother her when she is busy” 

“Ok, we believe you, dude” said Rafael, but not even two seconds later he and Max shared a look before screaming her name really loudly, which she without doubt heard and started to walk towards them.

“You guys are fucking evil” 

“Hey, guys. What’s up?” she said with a very lovingly smile. Madzie saw the two boys as her little brothers and she always had a need to protect them. She had to admit that when Max came into her life her seven year old self was very jealous of not being the favourite child in the Lightwood-Bane residence, but as soon as she met baby Max she couldn’t hold anything against him and then when Rafael came into their lives, a little bit closer to her age, the three of them became good friends. As she got older she was always happy to babysit the two boys when Magnus and Alec wanted some alone time for themselves. They all had grown up together.

“We just came back from a mission, right Roger?” Max said teasing the very embarrassed shadowhunter who managed to respond with a nod and a small glance to the pretty warlock in front of him. “What are you up to?” Max added looking at the reports she was carrying.

“I am temporarily head of security until Underhill comes back from his honeymoon and before he left he wanted me to look into the institute wards and how secure they are”

“Is anything wrong with them?” asked Rafael with concern.

“Not really, Magnus couldn’t have done a better job. Although I do have a small suggestion for him. There isn’t a reinforcement for the time wards”

“Why would we need them? Time travelling is impossible” 

“Almost impossible which means there is a slight chance that someone could get inside the institute by time travel”

“Underhill really has you paranoid with security” said Max teasingly.

“Leave her alone” said Roger in a small voice very different from his usual self.

“Thanks, Roger and by the way I am not being paranoid I am being careful. I wish I could say the same thing about you, Max” she teased back.

“I am careful” they all turn to look at him not believing a word that came from his mouth.  
“Last week you call me because you blasted a fire ball at the loft that left a gigantic whole in the ceiling. You are lucky you live in the penthouse otherwise your neighbours wouldn’t have been too happy” 

“You did what!?” said a voice from behind cutting their laughs short.

“Oh, hi dad. Did I happen to mention that it was an accident” answered the young warlock quite nervous looking at his father who had a serious frown in his face while Rafael was trying to hide his laughter at the whole situation.

“Never mind, we’ll talk about this later with your father. Have any of you seen your aunt Izzy?”

“She was in the weapons room talking to Simon” said Roger.

“Dad is everything, alright?” asked Rafael noticing very clearly that his father looked very concern and anxious. 

“Yes, you guys don’t worry about it. Start working on your reports” said Alec forcing a small smile before leaving.

Alec was indeed anxious. The fact that they didn’t find anything meant that they were no closer to finding the culprit which could cause more innocent deaths. He was now playing with his wedding ring like usual when something of this magnitude rested on his hands. Being the head of the New York institute was no easy job and Alec found himself many times under a lot of stress. When he was a kid he was always told that emotions were nothing but a distraction so he kept everything to himself which, internally, made him feel even worse. Jace and Izzy told him several times that he could always talk to them about anything, but it wasn’t until Magnus came along that he eventually started to open up little by little. Now Alec knew that the best thing for his mental health was to let his guard down and talk to someone and that’s exactly what he told his kids, specially Max who had the tendency of carrying everything inside just like him at that age.

As he was about to enter the weapons room he could hear the day lighter talking very passionately about one of those many mundane things that he still loved and his sister giggling at his words, to say that his presence annoyed him most of the time... would be a lie. Izzy was always the happiest of the Lightwoods, but ever since Simon got into her life she had a different glow in her face which made her even happier. Alec loved his sister so seeing her like this made him have a certain level of gratitude towards the vampire and besides he wasn’t a bad guy. He was actually very kind and generous and some of the movies that he recommended weren’t that bad at all, not that Alec would ever tell him that otherwise he would never here the end of it. When he walk in to the room they were both sitting down holding hands with some books in the table, but they both seemed more interested in their conversation that in Alec’s sudden presence.

“Hey, bro” said Simon after the tall shadowhunter cough to make his presence known. Alec looked confused at the sudden nickname while his sister couldn’t contain her laughter “So... Gollum was a hobbit, biggest plot twist of all, am I right?”

“We have more pressing matters to attend to” replied Alec rolling his eyes at the day lighter. “What did you find?” he added this time looking at his sister.

“Unfortunately, what I found only leads us to more questions. The bodies are in a really weird stated like if everything magical about them had been sucked out of them… it’s very unsettling and it gets even weirder, they all appeared to have a sort of star shape scar in their wrist. I’ve never heard or seen anything like this at all” she said showing some pictures to her brother. “I managed to ID some of the victims. They were all nobodies, who didn’t have any family, nobody to miss them that’s probably why none of us knew about this sooner because no one had reported them missing” she concluded with a lot of sadness in her voice holding back some tears.

“We didn’t find anything either. The whole crime scene was…deserted, apparently the killer went back and erased all his tracks. There was this strange solution in the door as we were leaving, it may not be connected to the case, but we should still run tests with it to see if there are any leads into who or what our killer can be. I also asked Magnus to look into the case maybe he can tell us if there is any type of magic involve” 

“Alec, are you ok?” 

“Yes, I am fine just a bit concern about this situation. I really want to catch whoever is doing this so there aren’t any more victims” he reassured her with a tiny hug and a faint smile. “Did you managed to talk to Max?” he added looking at Simon this time. 

“He is a bit scared which is understandable, but he is holding on better than all of us”

“Thanks for talking to him. He tends to keep his feelings inside, it’s doesn’t help with his anxiety”

“Any time, I’m always happy to help”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know I have change a few things from how the series ended and that is mainly because, although Alec is a great leader, I don't think they could have reach the equality that they were fighting for decades in just one year. Tell me what you think about this and if you have any suggestions or questions make sure to leave it in the comments.


	5. Chapter 5

A feeling of familiar uneasiness and discomfort invaded Magnus as soon as his magic came in contact with the bodies. He recognised the magic that was involved in the murderers immediately, but it just couldn’t be. It was impossible that it was him. There had to be something wrong. His whole body started to shake slightly at the mere thought of it actually being true. He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn’t even realised were he was going until he bumped into someone as he was walking along the corridors of the institute. 

“Magnus, did you find anything in the bodies?” Alec asked, but the warlock kept looking at the floor not realising his presence. “Babe, are you ok?” the shadowhunter added with concern touching his shoulders.

“Yes, I am fine. I-I didn’t find anything relevant, but there are traces of very dark and powerful magic” he finally responded.

“Fuck! We literally have no leads in this case… Are you sure you are ok?”

“Absolutely, darling. Probably just a bit drained. I had to use a lot of magic today”

“I called an emergency meeting with the downworld cabinet to discuss the case. Will you be up to it? Maybe you should go rest. Don’t take it the wrong way, but you don’t look so well”

“Alexander, I am more than capable to attend the meeting. Don’t worry so much about me, there are bigger things going on right now that need our attention”

“I am your husband. I am always going to worry about you, you are one of the most important things in my life, but if you say that you are alright then we should head to the meeting immediately because it’s about to start” 

“Let’s go” said the warlock with a smile before grabbing Alec’s hand to walk to the meeting together. 

The downworld cabinet had expanded itself a lot over the last decades. In their early years there was a small amount of only four representatives, now they were plenty of each race.  
All of this representatives were waiting for the head of the institute in a very uncomfortable silence. They all knew why they were call and they hated the situation more than any one. Lily Chen, the leader of the New York vampire clan, was pacing impatiently. On the other side of the room Maia was sitting down next to the seelie king, Merlion. The others were scattered around the room waiting just as impatiently.

“Sorry for our tardiness. Before we start this meeting I wanted to thank you for coming in such short notice. You may have heard some rumours about…” said Alec.

“Is it true? Are they really slaughtering our kind just like in the old days?” A vampire interrupted quite angrily.

“There is a lot of information that we still don’t know for certain”

“What if it was a hate crime to all downworlders?”

“A shadowhunter couldn’t have done it” interrupted the blonde Herondale staring at the vampire intimidatingly from the other side of the room.

“Right, because you are totally unbiased” said Maia sarcastically rolling her eyes.

“There is obviously some type of magic involved. Shadowhunters cannot make things disappear and they obviously don’t have the ability to drain blood like that” 

“Maybe it didn’t work alone” 

“Why do you always want to blame us for everything?” said Jace a bit more angrily to the alpha of the New York pack. Over the years they had learn to work together despite their rocky start, but they still found themselves not seeing eye to eye on many things.

“Why do you always assume your kind isn’t capable of such things when in the past they have proven, many times, that they are?” asked Maia standing from her seat to show her determination.

“I don’t think it was a nephilim, but a seelie on the other hand…” said Lily.

“How dare you accuse us? It was clearly a vampire” shouted Merlion also getting up from his seat. The whole room was suddenly filled with shouting and unreasonable accusations. The seelie knights were fighting with a group of vampires at the back of the room and the warlocks, some shadowhunters and wolves also appeared to be caught in their own fights.

“Enough!” Alec managed to scream louder than all of them. His sudden raise of voice seemed to have caught their attention because it made everybody go silent. “We didn’t come here to place blame on each other. This isn’t about us, it’s about those twelve victims that got murder. I call you because this is something that involves all of us and we all have to work together to solve it” he added much more calm.

“Alec is right. We have to look at this objectively and leave our differences behind. If we keep fighting instead of helping each other out then justice will never come for those twelve victims. They didn’t deserve to die” said Clary while Alec nodded in approval as a way of thanking her for backing him up. They all had a deep respect for the red head since the war with Valentine. She was the one who managed to unity them to rescue the now seelie king, after years of mistrust and rivalry, and she had also proven her loyalty to them many times in the past. So after hearing Alec and Clary speak they all started to calm down and took a seat.

“Luke, can you present the evidence that we have so far?” 

The werewolf stood up and started to explain everything they new so far and the weird things that had happened, he also had to describe the crime scene and showed them some pictures of it. Everyone seemed deeply affected by what they saw and heard, even Merlion despite his very composed and rigid persona couldn’t hide his worried gaze when he looked at the pictures of the bodies. 

Magnus knew he had seen this before. The modus operandi of the killer was familiar to him, but it had to be just a random coincidence. It couldn’t be him.

“Magnus... Can you tell us what you found?” asked the blonde shadowhunter with a bit of concern for his brother in law who appeared to be somewhere else, but the meeting. The warlock took a few minutes to answer trying to arrange his thoughts.

“There wasn’t much I was able to inspect, but there were very strong traces of black and powerful magic. The being who did this knew exactly what to do. It probably has previous experience” 

“You-you mean it could have done this before?” Maia was the only one capable of asking what everyone in the room was thinking.

“I really can’t be certain, but it’s highly probable” he answered while everyone else was suddenly overcome with fear. The room remain silent while they were all processing this new information.

“Maybe we should take a break” the day lighter spoke up to Alec who only nodded in agreement.

The tension in the room started to dissolved little by little. Some faint laughter was able to be heard coming from Clary and Simon who were talking about a recent mission they had together in central park that ended up with Jace running away from the scene because of the presence of a small duck. They all seemed more calm and relaxed. Even Maia managed to sort of apologise to Jace for being so stubborn about shadowhunters being implicated in the murders.  
But the tranquil atmosphere was interrupted by the arrival of Izzy, who came bargain in quickly to talk to Alec.

“Hey. It’s good to see you” she said giving a small hug to Magnus with a hint of concern in her voice. Izzy had a profound love for the warlock and she feared for his safety due to the recent events. She was happy to see that he was safe. “I have the results of the weird goo you found” she added. 

“What goo?” asked the warlock.

“I found some weird blue substance in the crack of the door in the crime scene” replied Alec as Izzy handed Magnus a small sample of the goo she had in one of the pockets of her smock.

Magnus face went pale the minute he touched the container. His magic recognised immediately the source of the substance. There was no doubt now, it really was him. He just didn’t understand how it could be possible. 

“Let me guess. It came back demonic?” he asked and she was only able to answer him with a nod. She was smart, she knew the warlock had already figure that out when he inspected the bodies, but she couldn’t figure out why would he have hidden that information. “I need to talk to you in private” he whispered to Alec in an urgent tone. The shadowhunter understood him immediately and they both headed to his office. 

“Magnus, what’s wrong? I can tell you are hiding something”

“I know who is behind all of this. I didn’t wanted to believed it at first, but my magic recognised his work immediately and the blue goo that you found was the last thing I needed to confirm it... To be honest, I still don’t understand how this is possible. I-It’s Asmodeus, he is back”

“What? That-that can’t be right. You told me he was stuck in limbo”

“That’s where I sent him, but apparently he managed to get out of there”

“Nobody can get out of limbo, it’s just not possible. Are you sure it’s not another greater demon? One that might happen to have similar traits to your father” 

“I didn’t say anything before because I was hoping to be wrong, but I knew Asmodeus for years, my magic can recognise him instantly and this is exactly the way he works”

“By the angel. This is not good”

“Well, that’s one way to put it. I am sorry I feel like I keep bringing everybody into my mess. It’s like it doesn’t matter what I do, my past always keeps coming back to bite me in the ass”

“Hey! It’s our mess and it is also not your fault that Asmodeus is your father. Besides, my family and I have been bringing you into our problems for a long time now, specially my parabatai” he said with a faint smile and touching Magnus cheek. “What do you think he wants?” he added with a much more serious tone.

“I am not sure, but considering how we left things I can only assume that he is not so happy. I just don’t understand the purpose of killing all of those downworlders. It’s my fault they are dead. I have sworn to protect my fellow warlocks, but today I have failed them…”

“Don’t say that. Asmodeus did this, not you” 

“But it’s me who he wants. I-I have to face him before he hurts anyone else” 

“What? No! We are in this together. It’s not just your fight anymore. We defeated him once, we can do it again, but I am not leaving your side and don’t give me that look because you know you would do the same for me” he said and Magnus just nodded in agreement before giving his husband a hug. They both held each other tightly, afraid to let go. Some minutes had passed when a knocked in the door interrupted them.

“Sorry to interrupt you both, but we got a major issue” said Madzie looking very pale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. I hope you have enjoyed this chapter and make sure to let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas for this fic. I really would like to hear your thoughts on the story. I am trying to update at least once a week and hopefully I will be able to keep up with that.


	6. Chapter 6

“Everyone, listen up. There is an infection of shax demons all over New York. It’s probably one of the worst that we have seen, so we are gonna need all the help that we can get. Each team has already been assigned to a certain area, try to cover as much ground as possible. Please do not loose your focus and call for back up if you need to. Start to gear up” order the head of the New York institute to all his personal that were listening to him in the ops centre. Alec seemed calm and determined as always, but on the inside he felt terrified for his family. Just hearing the name Asmodeus made his skin crawl and knowing all the horrible things he had done to his husband in the past also made him furious. 

“Alec, the New York pack is at your disposal just tell us where to go and I will get my wolves there” said Maia as the room was starting to clear. 

“So are the Seeli Knights…” said the seeli king also stepping up.

“And the vampire clan. This demon will go down, this is our fight too” spoke Lily Chen very firmly.

“I agree. Prepare your teams and we will send them to the areas that haven’t been cover yet like the east side of Brooklyn” said Alec.

“Eric, I need you to guide the warlocks. I have to shut down the demons rift” said Magnus to a dark skin warlock, who nodded in agreement. “ It would also be helpful, and I think you will agree with me, if all the downworld leaders are there. We may work better with all of our abilities combine” he added this time looking at everyone who remain in the room. They all nodded in agreement ready to fight.

 

The temporary head of security assembled the teams and gave them each a specific area to maintain in control as more demons invaded the city rapidly. Everyone was assigned to a team, except for Rafael and Max whose names weren’t called at all without an explanation. 

“Madz, you forgot to call our names” said Rafael as he and his brother approached her while she was gearing up with some of the special weapons Izzy had designed for extreme cases like the one they were facing. She looked at both boys and pressed her lips tightly before speaking.

“I didn’t forget… You just haven’t been assigned to take part in this mission” 

“What? Why?” asked Max.

“The head of the institute requested it. Look, I am sure there is a logical reason behind it…”

“Of course there is” said Rafael with sarcasm before storming out with Max right behind him.

They both were angry and they didn’t find it fair to be excluded from a mission with this level of importance. It was obvious that they needed as much help as they could get so it didn’t seemed logical that they weren’t allowed to be involved. Rafael’s anger was pretty clear as he was walking to his father’s office and Max was also about to explode any second. When they got closer to the room they heard their fathers arguing quite anxiously.

“Alexander, don’t you understand that putting yourself in danger is not just selfish, but highly irresponsible? I mean think about the kids”

“So you are allowed to put yourself at risk, but I am not?”

“I am not putting myself at risk. All I am saying is that if we encounter him I have to be the only one to confront him. He won’t harm me, but he may attack those around me, specially people who have crossed him in the past…”

“You don’t know how he is going to react. What if he tries to kill…?” said Alec who was interrupted by the presence of their sons in the door to his office.

“Is everything alright?” asked Rafael putting his anger aside. Magnus and Alec didn’t fought much, they were usually very happy around each other. Sure, they had many disagreements and had very different opinions sometimes, but even then they tried to maintain calm, specially when Max and Rafael were around. It was probably the first time they had heard them yell at each other.

“Yes, we were just discussing some…disagreements. Is there something you guys want to talk about?” asked Magnus calmly hiding his worries perfectly.

“Why aren’t we assigned to a mission?” Max asked this time looking at Alec.

“I know it can be hard to understand, but it’s a matter of safety”

“Safety? You are kidding, right?”

“You went on even more dangerous missions at Max age. Do you think we are not capable enough to deal with some minor demons?” accused Rafael.

“It’s much more complicated than that. You both don’t know the extensiveness of what is happening” 

“It’s not fair. Stop treating us like children. You can’t just decide when we get to do our job or not because you don’t consider it safe for fucks sake!” said the shadowhunter raising his voice with anger.

“Just because your brother died doesn’t mean you get to control us…” whisper Max, but they all could hear it. As soon as those words left his mouth he regretted it instantly.

“Hey! What is wrong with you both? You can’t talk to your father that way” shouted Magnus looking at both of his sons with an angry glance he had only used once before with them, when Max had “accidentally” turned one of the Clave’s council members into a frog. He had to erase many unpleasant memories that day, but his anger was much more intense this time.

“You want us to stop treating you like children then stop acting like one. I am the head of this institute and more importantly your father so I have every right to determine whether you get to go or not in mission and if I say that you are not going because we don’t consider it safe then you are not going and that’s the end of it. Now, if you’ll excuse me I have work to do” said Alec very coldly trying to remain calm before leaving his office.

“I’m very disappointed in both of you. I can understand if you are angry, but that doesn’t give you the right to speak to your father in that way or question our decisions. We want what’s best for you, why can’t you see that? I expect you both to apologise to him because you have hurt him deeply and we will definitely discuss this behaviour tonight” said Magnus calmly before leaving. He wasn’t angry anymore, he was disappointed which is so much worse. 

Rafael and Max knew they had stepped over the line, specially with the swearing and when they mentioned his younger brother. It was a subject his father avoided and no matter how hard he had tried to hide it, it was visible to everyone that his loss still affected him. When he died a piece of the Lightwood siblings also died with him. They didn’t know much about their uncle only some happy anecdotes aunt Izzy and uncle Jace had told them. Magnus had always said that he was a brave and caring boy who didn’t deserved to die. Both boys knew they shouldn’t have brought him up in their fight it wasn’t fair.

An hour passed and the institute was practically deserted. Everyone had been assigned a certain area to cover and It was weird to see no one running around or training in the institute that was usually very crowded. Max and Rafael were in the ops centre finishing some reports in silence. They both didn’t know what to say or what to do to fix their mistake. Rafael felt embarrassed, he was supposed to be more mature, a good leader, but the way he had behaved wasn’t reasonable at all. When they left his father’s office he apologised to his brother for getting him into trouble and told him how he felt, he wasn’t good at hiding his feelings. Max in the other hand was freaking out internally and his anxiety was rising by the second. He was trying to stay calm, he didn’t wanted to start to hyperventilate in front of his brother again. His palms were starting to get very sweaty and ugly thoughts were invading his mind. 

“Max, I am sorry for everything. I feel like I dragged you into this. I didn’t think things through and I let my anger over power me” said Rafael who was sitting opposite to him. 

“It’s fine. It was my fault too after all” 

“How are you feeling? You don’t look so well”

“I am fine” he said not really wanting to talk about it.

“Max, I think we should talk about how you feel. I can tell there is something bothering you and keeping everything inside will do no good. Eventually all those feelings that you have been hiding will explode and it’s pretty clear that they frustrated you a lot so maybe it’s best if you just let them out with someone. It doesn’t have to be with me, but I will always be here to listen and support you in what I can”

“Thanks, Rafe, but I really don’t want to get into it right now. Maybe another time” 

“I understand. I know…” he didn’t get to finish his sentence because an alarm that came from their central computer interrupted him. 

“What the hell is that?” said Max pointing at their router as they both rushed to inspect it.

“It looks like a small rift has been open in this street, where nobody has been send to cover that area. Those demons will just keep emerging if they don’t send a team to take care of it soon”

“It takes a lot of energy to open a rift, let alone two. This must be the work of a greater demon and not any greater demon. It has to be very powerful to be able to harvest this amount of energy” said Max with a lot of concern. “Wait…isn’t this a few blocks away from where the main rift is?”

“Yes. All the teams have just started their missions and by the time they finish and get to this zone it could be too late” said Rafael. He knew that this new demons opening could interfere with his fathers mission and provoke even more casualties. He wasn’t going to stand still while his city needed help, he had to do something. “I have to go”

“Whoa, whoa. I am going with you then” 

“I think it’s better if I do this alone”

“No fucking way. Our whole family is in danger and I want to help. Besides, you need a warlock to close the rift otherwise your whole mission is just pointless” 

“Fine, you can come, but I am in charge” said Rafael firmly as they both headed to the weapons room to retrieve what they needed.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way”

As they gather their weapons they couldn’t help to think the consequences they will have to face when they got back. This wasn’t just about proving themselves anymore, this was about their family and the greater good. Even if they got grounded for life it would all have been worth it for the safety of their world. They were about to head out of the institute when Emma’s team appeared walking in the same direction as them. She looked confused when she saw them geared up.

“I thought you guys weren’t allowed to go on the field today” she said as she walked with them.

“There was a change of plans due to the circumstances. More demons are starting to appear and apparently they need as much help as they can” replied Rafael.

“Can I talk to you? In private?” she asked, Max got the hint immediately and wonder off to wait for his brother in the entrance, but not before giving him a mischievous smile. Rafael’s heart started to pounder and he was doing his best to keep his nerves under control. “Look, I have a really bad feeling about this and you know that I am rarely wrong when I have a hunch” she added with concern. Emma had the ability to sense things, she always knew when something wasn’t right, since the day she was born. No one knew why exactly she was able to do this; but Magnus believed, it had to do something with her parents blood connection to the angels. 

“I bet the angels are trying to warn you of what can happen if we don’t do anything. This hunch will probably disappear once we eliminate the threat and I am sure we will”

“Just promise me you both will stay safe. I don’t know what I would do if something were to happen to you” she said before hugging him tightly. Rafael was trying his best to not pass out in her arms, but it was really hard. When she let go they both stared at each other standing in close proximity waiting for the other to do something. Rafael was the first to break his gaze, as much as he wanted it there were bigger things that demanded their attention in that moment.

“We should go” he said and she agreed and made her way to the entrance with him.

“We’ll see you when we get back. Be safe”

“Wait, Rafael…” 

“Yes?”

“Nothing…just take care of each other” 

In that moment he decided to confess his feelings to her when they got back from their missions and if she didn’t like him back it wouldn’t matter. He just couldn’t hide it anymore. He was utterly and hopelessly in love with his best friend and there was no denying it.

The street were the small rift had been open was very dark and demons were emerging rapidly. The two boys were behind a green dumpster checking the perimeter to determine how to make their approach. Max hadn’t close a rift before. Magnus had once explained it to him in case of an emergency, but he had never actually done it. The spell required a ton of energy and concentration, something which didn’t come easily to him, but he knew he could do it if he tried hard enough. 

“This is the plan, you go left to avoid the demons and I will go right to entertain them. Once you get to the centre I will cover for you. Your only job is to focus on the rift, leave the hard work and fighting to me”

“Hard work? I am doing the hard work. This whole mission depends on me”

“Ok fine, whatever. Now, can you please focus. On my count of three we run…one” said Rafael as Max unsheathed his blade and held it closer to his body . “Two” he continued and gripped his axe even harder, ready to fight. “Three!”

They both started running as the demons got closer to them. Like his brother had predicted the left side was almost clear, except for two demons that Max managed to stabbed very easily. The rift had expanded since they last saw it in the institute’s monitor and a vibrant yellow could be seen in between the cracks. The young warlock took a deep breath and started to cast the spell closing his eyes to avoid distractions. Rafael was doing a good job at keeping the demons away from his brother. His axe was cutting every demon that got close in half and he was fast enough to duck every time they went straight for his head. Their plan was actually working. The cracks were starting to close very slowly and Max was trying very hard not to get distracted from all the noise around him, but out of nowhere a strange energy made Rafael trip and he wasn’t able to stopped a demon from making his way to the warlock.

“Look out!” he shouted and luckily for them Max was able to react in time to blast the demon into the dumpster, but that caused him his concentration. 

“Dude, you have one job” 

“Something made me trip, ok? Just go back to closing this fucking thing” his brother rolled his eyes at his word before resuming the spell. 

Rafael was more aware of everything surrounding him now, not even one demon manage to get past him and as the rift was closing less demons were starting to come out. He was able to get rid of all of them by the time the crack was too small to let any more demons emerged. He thought it was over and he started to let his guard down, but before he could put his weapon away a horrible feeling took over him. All his senses went up and his breathing become heavy. He kept looking around trying to find something, but there was nothing. Suddenly he was able to spot a figure at the end of the street. It was hard to see what it was exactly, but it had the appearance of a man. There was something wrong going on and he could feel it. He held his weapon ready to use it and tried to keep a fearless posture, but a red glow started to pour out of the figure that sent shivers down his spine.

“Max, we have to get out of here” he blurted out as the glow was making its way to them.

“I am almost done”

“Max, I mean it. We have to get the fuck out of here, right now!”

“By the angel, just give me a minute”

“We don’t have a minute. Let’s go!”

“Chill the fuck out. I am almost…”

“MAX! GO” he shouted grabbing his brother by the shoulder, but it was too late the red glow got to them before they could start running and they vanished in an instant. The only thing Rafael saw before disappearing was a pair of golden eyes watching from the distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. I hope you have enjoyed this chapter and make sure to let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas for this fic. I really would like to hear your thoughts on the story. What do you think will happen next? How will Magnus and Alec react?


	7. Chapter 7

Max didn’t know how long he had been falling. He was trapped in a void for hours and he needed desperately to get out. Rafael was nowhere to be seen and he was starting to have a panic attack. This was not good at all. His chest was aching a lot and he could taste vomit in his mouth. Just as he was about to loose it, he finally touched the ground and not even a minute after something very heavy fell on his back.

“Ouch, get off me” he said pushing his brother away. “What the hell happen?” 

“I think we went through a portal”

“Dumbass, if we had gone through a portal. We would be stuck in limbo and we are not. We are…we are at the institute” he managed to say finally taking in his surroundings. They were in the middle of the training centre. Rafael had recognised the place immediately, but there was something odd about it and the fact that Max had taken so long to realise where they were was even more odd. Usually his magic knew when he was in a familiar surrounding, but at that moment he felt like he had never been in that place before in his life.

“If it wasn’t a portal how the hell did we get here, then?” said Rafael looking for a reasonable explanation.

“I don’t know. All I know is we didn’t close the stupid rift and it’s all your fault”

“My fault? How is any of this my fault?”

“If you hadn’t been so distracted then you wouldn’t have tripped and I wouldn’t have lost focus”

“I wasn’t distracted. Something made me trip. I am not like you, I do take my missions seriously and if this is any ones fault it’s yours” he said rising his voice with anger “I told you to run, but you stayed put. I was in charge of the mission and you were supposed to follow my orders”

“Oh, excuse me for trying to save our city. You are trying to put the blame on me because you know you were distracted thinking about Emma”

“I always put my duty first. You know what is your problem? That you always think you are right when you are clearly not. You are just so self centre…”

“I am self centre? Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but have you ever heard yourself speak? All you do is talk about you and your…”

“Shut up!” interrupted Rafael with a worried gaze.

“Don’t tell me to shut up. I am fucking right and you know it”

“Max, seriously listen” he said more calmly and they both went silent when they realised the sound of an alarm. They were numerous protocols established in the institute and a series of special alarms where set if they happened to be in danger. The alarm they were hearing right now meant that they were under attacked so they both stood up immediately with their weapons on their hand ready to rush to a fight.

“Drop your weapons!” shouted a familiar voice before they could get out of the room. The two boys were stunned to see that they were surrounded by unfamiliar shadowhunters with their weapons aiming at them.

“Listen to her. We will not ask again” said another familiar voice. Three figures came into the light and they could finally see their faces. It was none other than their uncle Jace, their aunt Clary and their aunt Izzy, but they didn’t have their usual loving gaze that was reserved for them, on the contrary they seemed rather angry and on high alert, an attitude they had only seen on missions before. Rafael was the first to react, he left his axe on the floor and put his hands in the air. Max followed him shortly.

“What the fuck is happening? Why do they look younger?” whispered Max in panic to his brother, who was only shacking his head repeatedly.

“How did you get passed the institute’s wards?” asked Izzy, but they were in utter shock that they couldn’t even managed a response. The younger version of their uncle just kept looking at them with a death glare.

“What’s going on? Did you find the threat?” said another voice that had just barged into the room, whose mere presence made Jace visibly uncomfortable. It was their father Alec Lightwood and he looked completely different, not only younger, but he also seemed more like a soldier than a leader. This man in front of them was a total stranger.

“Trespassing is a crime. We should send them to the institute’s cells before they have the opportunity to harm any of us” said Jace very coldly to Izzy avoiding Alec’s presence.

“Jace, they are just kids and we can’t just locked them up. We know nothing about them” she answered.

“Exactly, as far as we know they could be working with Valentine…”

“Whoa, whoa, you think we are working with Valentine?” said Max not been capable to hear one more word of their conversation. “I am a warlock. Why on earth will I work for a man that wants to erase my whole kind?”

“What he is trying to say is that we honestly don’t know how we ended up here. I know it seems hard to believe, but please don’t lock us up” said Rafael.

“Maybe this is what Valentine wants us to believe” argued Jace after a small silence.

“Jace, come on, just look at them. They are both clearly scare to death and if this was Valentine’s plan to infiltrate the institute I think he would have done it in a more subtle way” said Clary speaking up for the first time. She looked way younger than any of them, but her determination and conviction was still present in her eyes. 

“Lower your weapons” ordered Alec ignoring his parabatai, whose anger seemed to be rising by the minute, but he knew their was nothing to be said to change his request. In the last few weeks they had drifted apart so much that their bond seemed to be almost gone and they both were reluctant to fix it for the time being. 

 

Max and Rafael were led to a conference room by two shadowhunters they had never seen before. They both looked at the boys with arrogant and intimidating glances and dragged them by the arms through the hallway in a rush. They had been many times before in that room. The downworld cabinet was usually host there, and it always felt like it had a nice and warm atmosphere despite the fact that they had many arguments there, but the room felt different this time. It was very cold and formal. The difference between the room they were standing in with the one they had been many times before was that all those happy memories that were attribute to it hadn’t happened. There hadn’t been any laughter, cheering or even disagreements…at least not yet.

“What the hell is happening? Why do they all look so young? Why don’t they know us?” managed to say Rafael as he was freaking out with his hands sobbing the back of his head.

“And why are they talking about Valentine? I thought that dude was dead” said Max as he was trying very hard to block any thoughts from his mind, he knew that they would only cause him to panic even more and that was truly the last thing they needed at the moment.

“Where the fuck are we?”

“I don’t know. Maybe we are dead and this is hell” he said jokingly hiding how he really felt. 

“Do you really think we will go to hell?”

“Maybe not me, but you? Yeah, sure” 

“Ok…fuck. We need to calm down and look for a reasonable explanation and a way to fix this” said Rafael trying to be the mature one out of the two.

“There is no reasonable explanation, Rafael! Unless you want to consider time traveling, which may I remind you is impossible”

“It’s almost impossible” he stated remembering Madzie’s words. “Could a portal that travels through time exist?” he said after a moment of being deep in thought.

“I don’t know. All I know about time traveling is that it requires a huge amount of energy that literally nobody can canalise…well apparently someone is able to do it now”

“Uncle Simon made me watch one of those movies about time traveling and they always mention how fragile time really is. The tiniest intervention or mistake that we make can alter the future, our present, in the most significant ways. Just by us being here can have severe consequences on the time line. By the angel, what if we don’t get born at all?” 

“Well, we would have disappeared by now, don’t you think?” said Max not only trying to comfort his brother, but also himself. 

“I guess” answered the shadowhunter really wishing for his words to be true. “We need to figure out where we are right now in our family history so we don’t get in the way or spoil any major events”

“Well, they mention Valentine so that means that they haven’t killed him yet”

“I don’t think it is after the soul sword. The institute wasn’t damaged at all. Did you see the glances between uncle Jace and dad?”

“Yes, they look like they hate each other”

“Exactly, so we are probably around somewhere when they have just met aunt Clary. Remember how she told us that they couldn’t see eye to eye on anything when they first met?”

“And now they are practically best friends” he said with a bit of laughter in his voice as they both recalled the many times their dad and their aunt had gotten together to pull pranks on the blond shadowhunter or even just to make fun of him. Uncle Jace always acted like he was bother by it, but sometimes he couldn’t helped his laughter at the ridiculousness of his parabatai and his wife. “So they probably are after the mortal cup?”

“Or maybe they already have it? Papa told us that they did have it for a while, before one of Valentine’s followers broke into the institute to get it”

“But that would mean that…” he said, but he didn’t get to finish his sentence as another concern had just sinked in his brain. “By the angel, did that happen before our dad almost got married or after?” 

“I can’t remember; but if the wedding hasn’t happen, then our fathers are not together yet” he said in a calm voice to reassure his brother.

“They are coming. I can feel them getting close” said suddenly Max panicking a little bit. He wasn’t ready to face them and neither was Rafael.

“Fuck, we need to remain calm and avoid telling them we are from the future, ok?” he said almost whispering as they both took a seat trying to appear calm.

The door opened and Alec, Izzy and Jace came in looking very intimidating. Alec and Jace sat as far as they could from each other which made Izzy roll her eyes at their behaviour as she took a seat in the middle of them. It was amazing, to the two teenagers, how young they looked very different from their time line.

“I’m gonna be completely honest with you. Right now, our institute is on high alert and you guys coming here seems incredibly suspicious. If you are any threat to us this won’t end well for both of you” said Alec very firmly as the other shadowhunters were watching them carefully prepared to attack if necessary.

“We can assure you…sir” said Rafael feeling very uncomfortable with the whole situation. “That we are not a threat. Us being here is just a bad coincidence”

“How did you managed to get through the wards?” asked Jace. It wasn’t that long ago that Magnus came to the institute to reinforce their wards. Either the warlock did a very bad job or Valentine was able to outsmart them. The blond shadowhunter had never felt this paranoid, after discovering that Valentine was his father he wasn’t able to sleep or relax for a moment. Nothing made sense to him and those two young boys in front of him had to be another one of Valentine’s wicked plans. There couldn’t be any other explanation.

“We honestly don’t know. We were on a mission fighting some demons when suddenly a red glow appeared out of nowhere and shallow us whole. It felt like we were falling for hours until we ended up here” said Rafael and everyone was silent for a split second trying to figure out what they had just heard.

“Well…at least that explains why you were armed. What institute are you from?” asked Izzy, which made both boys paranoid. What were they supposed to say? They obviously couldn’t tell the truth and if they lied, it would be in vain due to the fact that they weren’t in the records of any institute because they weren’t even born yet. 

“We don’t work for an institute”

“So who do you work for?” asked Alec with his arms crossed. Rafael didn’t know what to say anymore. His mind was working fast trying to find an answer, but he couldn’t think of anything that made sense.

“We are private contractors” said Max finally.

“Private contractors? That means that Valentine could have hired you” said Jace.

“Dude, come on, I already told you that we don’t work for that son of a bitch. By the angel, just chill a little bit” said Max and they all were stunned by the way he had addressed the blond shadowhunter, who wasn’t used to people not finding him intimidating. Rafael was cursing his brother internally for his recent words. There was no way that they could trust them now.

“Who hired you, then?”

“We cannot revealed the name of our client, but I can assure you that it’s not Valentine” 

“Look, I know this all must sound very confusing and we probably are in a worst position that when we started this interrogation, but please believe me when I say that we don’t mean any harm to you or to this institute. We got lost in our job and now we are here, very far away from home, and the only thing we want is to see our family again, which we don’t really know if we will ever get to see” said Rafael looking for a way to appeal to their emotions. “And also I can assure you that we are not in league with Valentine. We hate him just as much as you do”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. I hope you have enjoyed this chapter and make sure to let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas for this fic. I really would like to hear your thoughts on the story. What do you think will happen next?


	8. Chapter 8

Closing the rift was harder than they had expected due to it’s size and the amount of demons that kept coming from there. It was a tough fight for everyone, but they were able to fix the situation in time before it got too big to control. They managed to do it with not even a single scratch; except for Maia who didn’t even notice that her arm was bleeding, but Madzie was quick to help her, despite her arguments, with a special spell her mother had taught her. Magnus was completely drained and exhausted and he just wanted to head home, but he knew they had to return to the institute first. They were now in Alec’s office analysing everything that had happen and what would be their next course of action. Luke had joined them and was asking every single detail about their mission. He didn’t go on many fights anymore due to his age, but he still was always involved, working so many years for the NYPD had taught him how to analyse people and determine what could be the next move. Magnus was glad he was there, they needed all the help they could get. 

“I don’t understand how he was able to get out of limbo? I thought that was impossible” asked Izzy as she was pacing nervously in the room.

“It is impossible” stated Magnus. “I know I usually have the answers for everything, but this time I truly can’t understand how he managed to get out. In the many years I have been alive there hasn’t been a case of something like this happening. Once you enter limbo, you’re completely gone. The fact that he did make it out, proves that he has reach a level of power beyond our comprehension”

“So why is he murdering downworlders and opening demos rifts in the middle of New York?” asked Jace with a lot of concern on his face.

“Because of me. It’s my fault all of this is happening. He must be looking for a way to get back at me for sending him to limbo. I have to be the one to confront him, there is no other way to make him stop” 

“Woah, Magnus. You’re not going to confront him alone, haven’t you thought that maybe this is all part of his plan to get your attention and make you feel like you have no other choice but to contact him?” said Simon. In all the years he has been a vampire no other person has helped him come to terms with himself as much as Magnus and Rafael have. They were there for him when Clary couldn’t understand, when he felt like his life was over, but they both showed him that there were still many things to live for. If it weren’t for them he wouldn’t be alive and he wouldn’t have met the love of his life. So when Magnus said that he was going to risk his life he couldn’t stay silent and watch him fight this alone.

“I hate to say this, but I actually agree with Simon. Our best shot of beating him for good is if we work together” said Jace looking at his parabatai for approval. Alec was trying to calm himself, it was the second time Magnus had mention risking his life and he was about to object again, but he was grateful for Simon and Jace cutting in. They were giving a much more objective look into the situation and showing how much they cared about Magnus.

“So it’s settle. We do this…together” said Alec.

“I don’t have much of a choice do I?” replied his husband with a small smile on his face. They kept discussing the events that took place that night, but they eventually got distracted with Jace’s constant tapping of his foot on the floor which was only getting louder and louder.

“Jace, are you ok?” asked Alec.

“He is just worried about Emma. She is not getting our texts, but Madzie already told us that her team is on their way to the institute” said Clary, who was sitting next to her husband.

“I told you we should have put a tracker on her phone” 

“We are shadowhunters, Jace. We don’t need technology to track her. I am sure she is fine if there were any complications her team would have already informed us” 

Just as Jace was starting to pace around the room nervously Emma appeared without a single scratch. Alec could feel how easily seeing her made Jace’s whole body relax and finally exhale. It is a common thing in their world that shadowhunters start going on missions at a very early age, but this doesn’t make it any easier for the parents not to worried for their safety.

“Oh thank the angel you are safe” said Jace walking rapidly to hug his daughter with Clary at his side. He very rarely thank the angels after every thing that had happened with Clary, but they were a few special occasions. The three of them where embraced in a warm hug that lasted several minutes. 

“Are Rafael and Max back already?” said Emma to Alec and Magnus when the hug was over.

“Back from where? What do you mean?” answered the warlock feeling nervous and worried all of a sudden.

“I-I thought…I saw them before heading out and they told me that due to the circumstances they had been cleared to go on a mission”

“What? They were specially instructed to not go on any missions” said Alec almost yelling as he was starting to feel short of breath and anxious, so much that his hands were shaking slightly. “Do you know where they went?” he asked and she only managed to shake her head in response.

“Alec, they are smart kids. I’m sure they are all right. They are probably back already” said Izzy trying to comfort her brother.

 

“You’re an idiot, Max. Why the hell did you tell them that we are private contractors? What does that even mean?” said Rafael with desperation when they were left alone in what appeared to be their father’s old office which looked very dull without his wedding pictures and without their things laying around much to Alec’s disliking.

“Well, at least I didn’t froze like you did. I saved our asses” 

“No, you didn’t. This only makes us even more suspicious. Any way, it doesn’t matter now, we need to focus in finding a way to get back home” 

“We should find Papa. He will be able to help” said Max, but the only thing Rafael could think about was if the Magnus from this time would actually help them for no reason. The fact that Alec had treated them which such coldness unsettled them and he was worried about his brother’s anxiety. He didn’t wanted Max to freak out, because as much as he was trying he was having trouble keeping it all together himself. The people from this timeline didn’t know them at all, they were just strangers. Would they really try to help them?

The presence of the two boys in the institute was very strange, even for their world. Some how a shadowhunter and a warlock were able to pass through the wards unannounced and not just any wards, this were Magnus Bane’s wards who were known to be one of the most protective measures out there. Alec wasn’t sure what to do, Lydia was away in a Clave meeting, which meant that he was the only one responsible for the institute at the moment. The protocol was clear when it came to trespassing, alert the clave immediately, put the intruders in a cell and wait for further instructions; but something inside Alec was telling him not to do that. He didn’t really understand why, but he felt like he could trust them. He never trusted this easily.

“I need you two to watch those kids, right now I have to take care of something, but when I come back I will figure out what we are going to do with them” said Alec to Jace and Izzy.

“You are seriously going to put us in baby sitting duty? Right now, we should be looking for a way to wake Jocelyn up so she can tell us where Valentine is. Those two kids could be working for him and for the first time, Alec, when you actually should be following the orders you don’t and now you expect me to look after them?” asked a very angry Jace. 

“Do you seriously believe they are working for Valentine? Those two scared and afraid kids?” interrupted Izzy looking at him straight into his eyes. “Besides Jace, there is nothing we can do right now to wake Jocelyn up and getting angry isn’t going to help”

“I really don’t have time for this. I will be back in an hour. Stay here or leave, I honestly don’t care, but if you do I will report it to the Clave” said Alec to his brother with the same level of anger.

“Alec, we should call Magnus. He installed the wards, he has to tell us why they failed” said Izzy. The shadowhunter knew that the most logical thing to do was to call him, but the mere thought of him being in the institute scared him because, even if he wouldn’t admit it, he really wanted to see him again at least one more time before he had to marry Lydia. He didn’t respond, but he nod his head in agreement before leaving.

“I will do it, but if he is not back in an hour they won’t be my problem” said the blonde when Alec was no where in sight. Izzy just rolled her eyes as usual, she was tired of seeing her brothers fight for even the smallest of things. She knew that deep inside they both wanted to reconciled, but neither of them wanted to admit their mistakes. They both just were so stubborn.

When Izzy and Jace got to Alec’s office they could hear the two boys bickering about something to each other. They didn’t even noticed their presence because they were so focused on their fight.

“What’s going on here? Are you two planning something?” said Jace interrupting them.

“Yes, we are planning how to murder all of you” answered the young warlock with sarcasm and the same level of intensity.

“How about we relax for a second? All of you” said Izzy emphasising her last sentence.

“I will relax when Rafael admits that all of this is his fault” said Max looking at his brother with anger.

“You think I wanted this to happen? I didn’t create the portal that sent us here. The only thing I wanted to do was protect our family, I told you not to come on this mission with me because it was dangerous, but you still wanted to come”

“You wouldn’t have been able to…deal with all of those demons by your own and you know that. You needed a warlock. I wasn’t gonna let you leave by yourself” 

“It sounds like you guys really care about each other, you were just trying to do the right thing in your own different ways. You kind of remain me of some people that I know” said Izzy looking at Jace, who was looking at the floor trying to not meet her eyes.

“I-I am sorry, Max. You are right this is kind of my fault, I should have never gone out in that mission. I am your big brother, I should be protecting you, not putting you in even more danger” 

“No, Raf, don’t apologise you were only trying to do the right thing. There was no way you could have predicted all of this and, look, if you say you tripped then I believe you” said Max sharing a warm smile with the young shadowhunter. He didn’t wanted to fight any more, he felt very afraid and lost, but at least his brother was here with him. He couldn’t imagine what things would be like if they weren’t together.

“You said you were brothers?” asked Jace all of a sudden with a much more calm than before. He was actually intrigued about their familiarity, he had never seen a shadowhunter and a warlock act that way around each other before.

“We are adopted” answered Rafael.

“How about we do something to pass the time?” said Izzy with excitement.

 

They had tried everything. Everyone had called them several times, they had left voice mail, they had tried to tracked them, but their signal was nowhere to be found. Alec and Magnus where getting more desperate as the minutes passed. Nobody knew where the two boys could be and with Asmodeus out there they could only think the worst.

“Jace, let’s try again” said Alec holding a piece of fabric in his hand that belonged to Max’s favourite shirt.

“We have tried three times already, Alec. It’s not working” said Jace with a very sad tone about the whole situation. They all were getting worried and their parabatai rune wasn’t helping them to find the kids and that only made him feel even more helpless. 

“Well, if you are not going to help me. I will go out to look for them by myself. I don’t care if it takes me all night” said the shadowhunter storming out to get his bow and arrow.

“Alec, you can’t go out there alone. It’s not safe. Let’s just wait for Magnus and Madzie, I am sure they will be able to pick up something and then we can figure out what to do” said Clary almost begging him.

“I cannot sit here any longer waiting for something to happen”

“Ok, then I will go with you” said Jace.

“We will all go with you” added Clary with determination and Jace and Luke nodded in agreement. Just as they were preparing their weapons to head out Magnus and Madzie came into the room with somber looks on their faces.

“Did you find anything?” asked Alec as soon as he saw them.

“No, we didn’t” answered Magnus punching the table with a lot of anger which made every one else jump in surprise slightly. The warlock was feeling hopeless, he couldn’t stop thinking that all of this was his fault. If Asmodeus wasn’t his father Rafael and Max would be safe right now, not missing in the middle of the night without a trace. He wanted to believe that all of this was just a twisted plan to get his attention, that his father wouldn’t hurt them on purpose just to get back at him, but Asmodeus had been capable of worst in the past so why would this be any different?

“We are heading out right now, to look for them. We will find them” said Alec almost breaking into tears as he was placing a hand on his husband’s shoulder trying to comfort him. Magnus nodded in agreement trying to hold it together before heading out to the door.

“Wait, wait, we found something” said Izzy who came running to them in her six inch heels and with Simon just right behind her. They both had been looking at the surveillance footage trying to find something that could tell them where their nephews had gone to. They were just about to give up when they finally found a lead “I looked up all the notifications on demonic activity we had over the past hours and there was one just minutes before the boys left the institute and I also checked an there wasn’t any teams send to cover that area. They probably saw it and went after it” 

“Where did the signal come from?” asked Madzie surprised that she hadn’t noticed the notification before leaving the institute.

“It was just a few blocks away from where the main rift was" 

“Main rift?” asked Luke speaking for the first time in a while.

“Yes, apparently another rift was open. That was the notification the boys responded to” she answered leaving all of them perplexed at the sudden discovery of another rift that one had noticed. The only thing Magnus could think about was how on earth did Rafael and Max were able to get into so much trouble?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while since my last update, but I never give up on any stories and right now I have a lot of ideas for this one. So like always, thanks for reading. I hope you have enjoyed this chapter and make sure to let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas for this fic. I really would like to hear your thoughts on the story. Do you think Max and Rafael will managed to get back to their time?


End file.
